Switch-piece and method of making it



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V A. J. MOXHAM.

SWITGH PIECE AND METHOD OF MAKING IT. No. 500,930. I Patented July 4,1893" WITNESSES IN VE N TOR (No Model. 7 Shets-Sheet 2.

A. J. MOXHAM.

. SWITCH PIECE AND METHOD OF MAKING IT. No. 500,930. Patented July 4,1893.

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A. J. MOXHAM.

SWITCH PIECE AND METHOD OF MAKING IT. No. 500,930. Patented July 4,1893.

WITNESSES j INVENTOI? ATTORNEY.

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SWITCH PIECE ANDMETHOD OF MAKING IT. No. 500,930. Patented July 4,1893;.

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A. J. MOXHAM. SWITCH PIECE AND METHOD OF MAKING IT. I I No. 500,030. IPatented July 4, 1893.

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A. J. MOXHAM. SWITCH PIECE AND METHOD OF MAKING IT. No. 500,930.Patented July 4, 1803;.

WITNESSES INVENTOH Unirrno STATES ATENT 1 tries.

ARTHUR J. MOXI-IAM, OF JOHNSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

SWITCH-PIECE AND METHOD OF MAKING IT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 500,930, dated July 4,1893.

Application filed January 26, 1892- Serial No. 419,304- (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ARTHUR J. MOXHAM, of Johnstown, in the county ofOambria and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Railway Switches, Frogs, Crossings, and AnalogousStructures and Methods of Manufacturing the Same, which invention isfully set forth and illustrated in the following specification andaccompanying drawings.

The object of this invention is to increase the durability and at thesame time to lessen the first cost of making railway switch-pieces,frogs, crossings and analogous structures. Switches, frogs,and crossingsare composed essentially of two portions one of which is the switch frogor crossing proper, which consists of the point, the throat, the floorplate and extension rails. The other is composed of the track connectingrails. The first portion of the structure is subjected to great wear,which is a source of much trouble and expense; the wear being incidentto the travel of both tracks on this portion, and also it is more orless cut away, while the track connecting rails of the switch, 850., arenot subject to the same amount of wear. If the first portion of thestructure were made of better and more durable material than could wellbe aiforded for the entire structure, and their wearing surfacestempered or hardened, it would effect a great improvement. If this beattempted with the ordinary construction of switch, &c., it could bedone only with great difficulty, if at all, without warping thestructure, if the structure is in an entirety at the time such anattempt is made. It is also necessary that the track connecting railsshould be true both in cross section and in elevation, as they shouldmake a close fit with the track rails, and it is therefore desirablethey should be made of rolled steel in the ordinary manner. I havediscovered that if the following method of construction be carried out,I am enabled to construct switch-pieces, frogs and analogous structuresfor railway tracks, in which the portions of the structure subject toexcessive wear will be in condition to withstand said Wear, and at thesame time the remainder of the structure can be constructed of theordinary material and in the ordinary manner. I first separatelyconstruct an integral or homogeneous portion, comprising the point, thethroat, the floor plate and the extension rails,by either casting itasawhole or making it of parts welded together. It is preferably of agood quality of steel in compact form, thus rendering it capable ofbeing tempered or hardened, and suitable to withstand excess ive wear.Then the wearing surfaces of such portion are tempered or hardened,which operation, owing to the short and compact pro portions of saidportion, is easily effected Without liability of Warping. Lastly,theends of this portion are welded or brazed to, or otherwise made integralwith, the track connecting rails of the structure, so that whencompleted, the switch, frog, &c., is an integral structure throughout,provided with track connecting rails. At the welding points of thetrack, connecting rails with the rest of the structure, the heat of theweld is confined to a short zone, so that the hardened surfaces of theremainder of the structure are not injured by said heat, or at most toonly so short a distance from the weld as to be of no practicalimportance. But if softened, said surfaces can be rehardened, by quickcooling, without danger of the small portion of metal acted on warpingthe rest of the structure by such cooling.

I will now describe the preferred form .of embodiment of my invention.

In the accompanying drawings, Figures 1 and 2 are perspective views of amate or blind switch, both after and before the welding is effectedwhich is performed in carrying out my invention, the forms of railsshown in these figures being those known as girder guard-rail. Figs. 3and 4, are perspective views of a frog both before and after suchwelding, the sections of rail shown being of a form known as T-rail.Figs. 5 and 6, are perspective views of a curve-cross both before andafter the welding of the parts, the rails shown being of a form known asguard-rails. Figs. 7 and 8, are views in perspective of agirder-crossing, Fig. 8 being enlarged and showing one corner of thegirder-crossing before the Welding.

In said figures the several parts are re spectively indicated byreference letters as follows:

The structures shown in Figs. 1, 4, 6, and

8, and respectively known as mate or blind switch, frog, curve-cross andgirder-crossing have each one portion which may be termed the switchmate, frog, curve and girder crossing proper, which comprises the point,the throat, the floor plate and the extension rails.

The girder-crossing shown in Fig. 7, has four of such portions, one ateach corner. This intermediate part, at least in the case of mate, frogand curve-cross, includes the point a, the throat D, the extension railsO C, opposite to the point and throat and the inclosed floor-plate B.

In Figs. 3 and 5, the letter A, represents the portion of the structuremade separate from the track connecting rails, including the point a,the floor-plate B, and the extension rails O O, opposite to the point aand throat D. The form and size of this portion A,will, of course, varymore or less according to the forms and depths of the rails employed,but it should be as short and compact as possible. If, as shown in thedrawings, the rails be mounted on chairs, the structure may be mountedon chairs also; or if, as shown, the depth of the structure shouldcorrespond with the combined depth of track-rail and chair, the lowerportion of the structure need not be left con tinuous, but in such case,may be cut away at intervals leaving intact, portions of metal or feetupon which to be supported. The portion A, of the structure having beenconstructed, the point a, the floor B and the extension rails C 0,exposed to Wear, are tempered or hardened, after which the trackconnecting rails (indicated in Fig. 3 by the letter G), necessary tocomplete the structure and the ends of the part A, are welded togetheror otherwise joined preferably into integral union. If the rails aremounted on chairs, a chair g, should preferably be located at the end ofeach rail, somewhat as shown in Fig.3, so that the weld of the rail andstructure (if welded together) would also include the chair. A singlecross-tie can then support the structure at or directly under such weld.

Several types of rails are shown in the different figures in connectionwith the several structures. It is obvious, therefore, that thisinvention may be used in connection with any form of rail which may bepreferred.

In the girder cross the part A, as shown in Fig. 8, is provided for eachcornerof the structure as shown in Fig. 7, and is made separate from thetrack connecting rails, and in such crossing, the points a, and thefloor plate 12, are the principal parts to be tempered. If desired, thetempering of the respective points of part A and A can be avoided by theuse of a tough and very hard class of steel, such as the new manganesesteel or nickel steel. Such metal can be used within commercial limitsowing to the light weight of the mass required as distinct from the restof the structures.

cise construction hereinbefore described, as the same may be varied; thedifferent parts may be united or connected together by means other thanhereinbefore described.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim- 1. Arailway-switch,frog, crossing or analogous structure, provided with the partintermediate to the track connecting rails formed separate from thetrack connecting rails and united into an integral structure therewith.

2. A railway-switch, frog, crossing, or analogous structure, providedwith the part intermediate to the track connecting rails formed ofmaterial different from the track connecting rails and united into anintegral structure therewith.

3. A railway-switch, frog, crossing, or analogous structure, providedwith the part intermediate to the track connecting rails formed separatefrom the track connecting rails and tempered or hardened and united intoan illtegral structure with said track connecting rails.

4. The hereinbefore described method of manufacturing railway-switches,frogs, crossings and analogous structures which consists in firstconstructing and tempering or hardening the part intermediate to thetrack connecting rails and then integrally uniting to said part thetrack connecting rails.

5. The hereinbefore described method of manufacturing railway-switches,frogs, crossings and analogous structures, which consists in firstconstructing and tempering or hardening the part intermediate to thetrack connecting rails and then welding thereto the track connectingrails.

ARTHUR J. MOXHAM.

Witnesses:

W. F. BRUCKEL, FRANCIS P. REILLY.

I do not intend to limit myself to the pre-

